lS64- Relvew of ^urvejf of th^ County cf Cavan. 22Q 



Wo iliall difmlfs thd work with a finglc remark on the flylc* 

 We do not expect elegance on Co plain a fubje(i>, but have a 

 tight to demand pcrfpicuity ; and there are many pallages which 

 in reality cannot be eafily underltood. This could hardly be par- 

 doned in a plain pra<SHcal farmer, but far lefs in a gentleman who 

 mufi: be fuppofod to have got a liberal education. 



We (liail give our readers a fpecimcn of compofition, which 

 is confelTedly too hard for us, p. 112. 



* That turf is evidently engaged in active vegetation^ cannot be denied, 

 as numerous iuflances are in every county of bogs affording new fuel, 

 which have long ago been cut out ; the antifeptic qwalily of bog is ea- 

 lily accounted for by the quantity of timber it contains. It is this 

 w^hich prevents the water from putrefying which is fhut up within it, and 

 cannot be changed ; elfe, was a running ftream pafling through it, it 

 would quickly rot and be converted into earth ; therefore we muft fup- 

 pofe that, in early ages, before thefe forefts had fallen, the vicinity of 

 moraflcs, which now are bogs, were as remarkable for their unwholeiome 

 damps and fogs, not having yet received the aflringent principle which 

 the timber conveys, as they are at prefeiit for their falubrity, which is 

 occalioned by their pofTeffing that pnnciple imparted by the trees, which 

 they cover. And this may account why this ifland was fo poorly in- 

 habited, and fo overrun with immenfe forefts. * 



We have thus fpoken freely of the work, and muft take the 

 liberty to fay a fingle word of the author. We have been uni- 

 formly pleafcd with the benevolence which he on all occafions 

 manifefts. His intentions always appear fuch as become the 

 lover of his country, and the friend of man. His failings, even 

 as an author, lean to the fide of virtue. This we add, with the 

 <;reater pleafurc, as our remarks may feem fevere : But we have 

 been reviewing a book, not a man ; and our opinion of an author 

 ought not to influence our judgement of his work. At the fame 

 lime, though the charaiS^er of authors falls not within our pro- 

 vince, it would certainly increafe our fatisfad:ion to find equal 

 proofs of benevolence in works on which the laws of criticifm 

 muft pronounce a more favourable fentence. 



H. 



VOL. V. KG. 18. P BRANCH 



